This must be one of Bronson's best performances. But the film itself is nothing to write home about and does not deserve a review. But I am writing one anyway.BRONSON plays this small time hood who is being hunted by the mafioso after his former boss (played by LINO VENTURA) puts out a contract on his head, fearing that he might spill the beans about their operations, for a deal with the police. Much of the film is told in flashbacks as Bronson's character narrates the story of his life to a man of the law. The film has a great memorable score by RIZ ORTOLANI. It is used to great effect in the scenes with BRONSON and JILL IRELAND, who plays his wife. It also boasts of a great fight scene in jail where a nude fighting fit Bronson holds his own against assassins in the jail's shower. The film also has a depiction of the Appalachin meeting mentioned in GOODFELLAS.But it is a rather tepid and flat film. No real memorable scenes. Underdeveloped characters. It is a real mess. And even though i liked the way the film looked, some of the sets looked like sets.(6/10)

I just viewed the Valachi Papers last night (Netflix rental) and was struck by some of the blatant anachronisms. The big goofs, some of which are mentioned elsewhere on IMDb, include:* The World Trade Towers looming in the background as a car crashes into the river in 1930;* A circa 1970 car riding along Bronson's period sedan;* A contemporary light post in the distance as Bronson carries out a hit for Genovese. Second, as memorable as Joseph Wiseman was as Dr. No, his performance as Marranzo is astonishingly bad.Given these points, I nearly turned off Valachi Papers about 20-minutes into the film, fearing I was in for a two-hour Ed Wood version of a mobster movie. Yet, I stayed with it and found myself fairly engaged for the entire thing. As the film progresses in time, the continuity issues disappear, and Charles Bronson's understated performance helps to sustain a modicum of credibility.One can appreciate how, for a 1972 audience, the film's relative realism breaks some new ground; however, when you consider that The Godfather, one of the best films ever made, was released that year, it's easy to understand why the Valachi Papers has been largely forgotten over the years.

America has always been a land of opportunity. For the Italians, none more so than giving rise to an American icon, the Gangster. For many years, the U.S. government denied the existence of Organized crime. Even the top U.S. law enforcement officer and head of the famed Federal Bureau of Investigation, J.Edgar Hoover, denied such an organization existed. His apathy was due in part to his own shadowy complicity with the Giancana crime family. That's pretty much how it stayed until the advent of the McClellen commission. The movie " The Valachi Papers " is the direct result of that investigation and brought to the forefront of public awareness the vast network of the underworld's crime bosses and their families. The wellspring of that knowledge was none other than the most famous gangster since Al Capone, one, Joseph Valachi. His testimony, created a healthy respect and awe for the Mafia or as Valachi termed it, La Cosa Nostra. (Our thing) This movie is a compilation of his criminal life, dastardly deeds and the revelation of some of the nation's most notable names. Men like Vito Genovese, Anastasia, 'Lucky Luciano' Don Masseria and Marazano. The film is honest when it deals with its legendary brutality and bodies are left throughout the story including its most graphic moments. The end result is perhaps the best Mafia movie since the Godfather. ****

I watched the movie on demand on cable and its amazing that the Valachi Papers was released nearly within a 6 month time span of the Godfather; both films could not be further apart in the spectrum. Bronson was all wrong for the part; the forced accents from all of the principals made it look and sound more like a skit from Saturday Night Live. It was just plain horrible. It was as if they were just trying to cover a time line as if they were doing a documentary. When you watch it, its presentation comes off dated, like a low budget 1950s style movie. The music is heavy and melodramatic. This film should be remade with a director who can take his time and with writers who will work up a screenplay befitting this amazing story. I mean before Joe Valachis testimony, very few people knew the workings of La Cosa Nostra and it was years before J Edgar Hoover even admitted there was organized crime.